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A Simple Pot of Beans

A Simple Pot of Beans

Soak a pound of Good Mother Stallard Beans or other bean (Eye of the Goat Beans, Eye of the Tiger Beans, Cannellini Beans, Borlotti Beans (Cranberry Beans), and on and on. I soak for 6 to 8 hours – maybe even overnight.

Mirepoix:

½ lb yellow onion, diced
¼ lb carrots, diced
¼ lb celery, diced
You can use more if you want, just make sure the proportions are correct. Simple as pie eh?

In the bean-pot or dutch oven (Le Cruset is good), put in a glug of good olive oil. Heat the oil. Add the mirepoix. Cook for a few minutes.

Beans:

1 lb of good quality, fresh but dried beans soaked.
6 cups of homemade vegetable stock or water (I use Mark Bittman’s recipe and make my own roasted vegetable stock which makes a big difference but if you don’t have the time or inclination use some organic vegetable stock with no salt)
2 tsp of salt

Directions:

Add the beans to the mirepoix – same pot.
Add in the 6 cups of stock/water
Bring to a boil on the stove top and then simmer for five-minutes.
Cover the beans and put the pot into the 350° oven.
Bake until the beans are done – usually about two-hours.
About half-way through check on the beans to make sure there’s enough broth/water. Add more if necessary and add the salt at this point.

When the beans are done, gather your friends, family or self. Put some beans into a bowl. Sprinkle a little grated parmesan on top. Drizzle with a little good olive oil and a sprinkle of fleur de sel – maybe a squeeze of lime. Eat. Heavenly good. You could make a simple salad too – maybe a good sourdough baguette – but not necessary. The beans in my house, once cooked, go fast.

The Gourmandise School of Cooking
This is a small and wonderfully lovely cooking school in Santa Monica. Located on the top floor of Santa Monica Place. Classes include everything from cooking baking, frosting, bread baking, to much more exotic fare. Teachers are delightful.